How to Maximize Your Exposure on Voice123.com

Recently, I was asked by voice actress Julie Williams to help out with an upcoming webinar about “Making More Green in 2014″. She asked me to put together this guide on maximizing your exposure on Voice123.com.

Voice123 Premium members receive opportunities to audition for voice over work every day via our SmartCast system. SmartCast takes the information given by the voice seeker (client) and automatically invites the best matching voices for that project to audition. This eliminates the “first to the microphone” competition as only those who are the best match will be invited to audition first. SmartCast will then begin inviting more people until the requested amount of auditions is filled or the client closes the project. Clients only get auditions from voices that match exactly what they asked for. This encourages them to listen to all their auditions and come back to post more projects. Voice123 Premium members also have their profile shown in our search feature. This allows clients to book you directly just from hearing your demos on the site.

All Voice123 members get a profile page, can upload 10 demos, and get a Voice123.com URL they can use to promote themselves, but only Premium members appear in the search feature and get invites to SmartCast projects.

Complete Your Profile Properly

SmartCast is a very sophisticated algorithm, but it can only work with the information you give it. Ensure that your Voice123 Profile is complete and that you have checked off all boxes that apply to you. Here are some options that you may have missed:

Most voice seekers check these three things when they are posting a project. Make sure you have them checked in your profile to ensure you get matched to as many jobs as possible.

Also, concerning budgets:

Near the bottom of the “My Details” page, you will see the option to opt out of certain budgets. I recommend leaving all of these unchecked, this way you can determine what you want to audition for and what you don’t. Many of our larger clients, like Pixar and Warner Brothers, have left their budgets “To Be Determined” or “To Be Defined” when they posted projects. If you are opted out of these, you may miss out.

Upload a sample in each category

SmartCast will give preference to voice actors that not only indicate that they would like to audition for certain kinds of projects, but also have a demo uploaded in that category. For example, if you want to audition for audiobook projects, make sure you not only check the “audiobooks” box on your profile, but upload a demo in the audiobook category.

Don’t audition for everything!

Many talents think they should audition for absolutely everything and “see what sticks.” This is a bad practice for Voice123 because it can lead to bad ratings from voice seekers. Plus, you want to only audition for voice seekers you really want to work with. I review each project posting very carefully to ensure that this sounds like a client I want to have a long term relationship with. Also, make sure you meet ALL the requirements. We hear complaints from clients who get auditions from talents only to find out they really don’t have ISDN or phone patch in their studio or that they cannot add music to the project. Auditioning for stuff that doesn’t really suit your voice wastes your time and the client’s. Your time and effort are valuable! Don’t throw it away.

Submit high quality audio

I know many voice actors that want to audition from their iPhone or iPad while on the road. Our clients absolutely hate this. They say they cannot hear the talent’s true voice, not to mention, they have no way of knowing if their final audio will sound good. Put yourself in the client’s shoes If you had to choose between a talent who auditioned with sub-par quality audio and a talent who submitted a crystal clear, high quality audition, who would you go with? As a producer, whose audition would you send along to your client?

More info

Take some time to watch these recorded webinars. They will really go into detail and show you what Voice123 looks like from the voice seeker’s point of view:

Getting started with Voice123:

Tips for booking work with Voice123:

Hope this helps you make the most of your Voice123 Premium membership! If you have any questions about using the website, be sure to check out our Online Resource Center.

Tara Tyler is a voice actress and Head of Communications for Voice123.com. After working in radio for 10 years as a morning show host and production manager, she left to pursue her love of the voice over industry and now helps others find success in their voice acting careers. Follow her on Twitter @TaraTylerVO.